Yesterday Massa confirmed what we already knew, as they say, the writing was on the wall. He will not be a Scuderia Ferrari driver in 2014.

Posting on his Instagram account Massa said, “From 2014 I will no longer be driving for Ferrari. I would like to thank the team for all the victories and incredible moments experienced together. Thank you also to my wife and all of my family, to my fans and all my Sponsors.

From each one of you I have always received a great support! Right now I want to push as hard as possible with Ferrari for the remaining 7 races. For next year, I want to find a team that can give me a competitive car to win many more races and challenge for the Championship which remains my greatest objective! Thank you all. Felipe”

Having come close to winning the championship in 2008 (picture above) he was fired up in 2009 however the rouge spring from the Brawn of Barichello almost put an end to his life and racing career. Ferrari kept faith in the little Brazilian driver however since his return from injury he appears to be a shadow of his former self and it was inevitable that he would be shown the door at some stage.

TJ13 have heard that the last month had been rather interesting at Ferrari with their star driver Alonso not happy about the talks being held with Raikkonen. This led to talks with Red Bull however according to Marko the fact that they have never worked with Alonso was a concern, especially as he had to partner Vettel.

“With some [Champions] it is possible to work together, others not. From what we saw of Alonso we thought there was not a way to manage the relationship.”

It appears the Spanish Samurai is burning bridges faster than a steam train can burn coal and this limits his options.

So today, in a couple of hours, Ferrari will announce Alonso’s new team mate. The quake may be a bit late but the tremors have been felt for almost two months now. Ferrari needs to win the World Constructors Championship, its about Ferrari and who they are. Pairing Alonso and Raikkonen will arguably give Ferrari the strongest pairing on the grid albeit with a very high risk factor.

I suggested in the news on Monday, that Red Bull had been using a wet engine map setting, and this now appears to be the case. It was to reduce the stress on the gearbox components, yet only Vettel was instructed to do this and not Webber.

Speaking to AMuS Adrian Newey is bemused over the gearbox problems both of the RB9’s experienced in Monza. Caterham use exactly the same gearbox, but were not troubled with any such issues.

Of course, we don’t know exactly the cycle of gearboxes being used by both teams, but it has been suggested that those of the RB9’s were on race4 out of 5 in which they must be used.

Both cars had problems on the Friday in Monza and the gearboxes were opened and damaged parts replaced. It was high oil pressure telemetry data which was why the team instructed both drivers to short shift during the race.

“Frankly, it’s a mystery,” admitted Adrian Newey. “Monza is particularly hard on the gearbox, but we never had a problem like this, With Mark it was serious, while for Vettel it was more of a precaution. It is possible that we will open his gearbox in the factory and everything is fine.”

So with each RB9 having to use the same gearbox for Singapore, where over the 3.2 mile track they change gears 80 times – more than 600 during the race – will we see a drama and maybe the championship leader suffering a DNF or even a 5 place grid penalty.

The home of the first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix has had a troubled time for many years. Threatened by Ecclestone with the loss of the British GP, Silverstone has invested in the infrastructure and the circuit like never before in its history. This has left its owners the BDRC in debt to the tune of over £30m.

The British Racing Drivers Club will imminently be able to pay off the loans they have with Lloyds banking group for the development and improvement of the circuit and its facilities.

Commercial property company MEPC, a subsidiary of the BT P{ension scheme has taken out a 999 year-long lease on the Silverstone Industrial Estate. This includes development land around the outside of the Silverstone Circuit but doesn’t include the management or development of the circuit itself.

A ‘suitable partner’ has been found by the BRDC to develop and invest in both the circuit and circuit related facilities. Yet at present there is a non-disclosure agreement in place whilst the terms are finalised.

The BDRC hope to conclude these negotiations prior to the Club’s AGM next month.

MEPC will is already working on a number of projects and CEO Rick de Blaby is confident in what can be achieved.

“When we were approached with the BRDC’s vision of what Silverstonemight become in its next iteration, it was easy for my colleagues and I at MEPC to relate to such ambition. The creation of great business estates, with clusters of particular commercial activity that have a sense of place and community, is what we do.

That the BRDC had secured planning consent for its Masterplan is to its great credit and we are, of course, hugely cognisant of the immense history of SIlverstoneand its current standing today, not just as a venue for world-class motor sport, but as a centre for high-end precision engineering.

It is now MEPC’s wish to see that vision materialise in all its forms and we are incredibly excited about investing in a number of the specific projects we have already identified for the next 24 months, albeit the ongoing development of Silverstonecould be a 10 year project. It is a significant responsibility to fulfil the entirety of our now shared vision, but one I am confident will be achieved.”

BRDC chairman Stuart Rolt said the Club was delighted to have been able to conclude a deal.

“Following major improvements to Silverstone, including significant investment in the Grand Prix Circuit and building of The Wing, the BRDC Board was given a mandate three years ago to attract suitable partners to invest in Silverstoneand help realise the full potential of its 760-acre Estate,” he said. “Over three years the Board has given consideration to a number of offers from credible parties and we are delighted to have reached an agreement with MEPC, which was selected on the grounds of its financial standing, reputation, the quality of the developments it has undertaken – and continues to own – and the price it was prepared to pay.

“We have every confidence that their vision for our land will see the realisation of a high-quality development, which will add to the ever-growing status of Silvertsoneas a world-class centre for motor sport and vehicle engineering. We are also confident that in MEPC we have a partner which fully appreciates the status of Silverstoneas a race circuit, its history, the ethos of the BRDC and the importance of doing everything to ensure that reputation is enhanced in the future.”

Italian publication Autosporint is reporting today that prior to Hungary, Nico Hulkneberg had a draft contract with Ferrari. However, in Monza Hulkenberg was informed that Ferrari would not be signing the contract for 2014 and that he should look elsewhere for a drive.

Massa has now declared he will not be a Ferrari driver in 2014, so it is surely imminent that Maranello will formally unveil Raikkonen as his replacement for 2014.

It was amusing to hear Johnny Herbert commenting at the weekend that Hulkenberg’s qualifying and race performance had surely put himself firmly in the mind of Ferrari. Some may reasonably question whether Herbert actually ever worked in F1?

A number of the drivers have already left for the city to get acclimatised to the heat and the high humidity levels. Some choose to adjust to local time, whilst the teams and media tend to stay on GMT to avoid the jet lag.

The F1 king of twitter, Fred as some call him, is getting all gooey minutes before Ferrari confirm what has been public knowledge for some time. He tweets, “All the luck for next years! You will be a strong opponent in any team! And we still have 7 GP to have some fun!”. What on earth does Fred mean by ‘have some fun’?

Anyway this was accompanied by this lovely picture. What was that song?………… Oh yes – “Just the two of us.. we can make it if we try…..” – Bill Withers. Oh and by the way if you want to be royally entertained, and cry holding your sides laughing, Will Smith did a rappy/remix version sometime in the late 90’s. It’s a killer – trust me.

And here are the lyrics. Look like Rob Smedley had something to do with this too…..

I see the crystal raindrops fall
And the beauty of it all
Is when the sun comes shinin’ through

To make those rainbows in my mind
When I think of you some time
And I want to spend some time with you

(Chorus)

Just the two of us, we can make it if we try
Just the two of us, just the two of us
Building castles in the sky
Just the two of us, you and I

We look for love, no time for tears
Wasted waters all that is
And it don’t make no flowers grow

Good things might come to those who wait
Not to those who wait to late
We got to go for all we know

(Chorus)

I hear the crystal raindrops fall
On the window down the hall
And it becomes the morning dew

Darling, when the morning comes
And I see the morning sun
I want to be the one with you

(Chorus)

Just the two of us, let’s get together, baby
Just the two of us, we can make it
Just the two of us, we can make it
Just the two of us

At last. Its over. The press release says that Raikkonen has signed a 2 year deal, but as TJ13 revealed last week it probably includes an option for both parties to extend this for a third year. So there are now 2 roosters in the hen house, something Il Padrino said last year they wouldn’t do.

Kimi has issued a full statement saying…..

Source GPD

I think it was 1953 the last time Ferrari had 2 world champions racing together for the Scuderia – anyone know who they were?

Kimi should be called the silent assasin because he first replaced Schumacher and now has forced the exit of Massa, Schumy’s junior partner.

Alonso says, “I’d like to welcome my new travelling companion: together we will have to tackle a very demanding technical and racing challenge.” Maybe Fernando will be regretting getting under the skin of Il Padrino and his underling Domincali, but he stays – this is the headline pairing for 2014 and the prospects for next year are deliciously mouthwatering.

Of course all the attention will now turn to Lotus. Will they sign Massa or Hulkenberg, or is there still life in the rumours that Alonso is hopping mad and will return to his world champoionship winning Enstone based team. Let’s hope he stays because it has been a long time since we have had 2 world champions in the same team (not sure Jenson counts). Obviously Prost and Senna are remembered the best, but there have been others…. know who they are?

Lotus are yet to comment propoerly, except for this twitter posting seconds ago… who knows what they are trying to say.

Adam Cooper has tweeted this picture of the infamous turn 10 on the Singapore GP circuit. The chicane which adorned this turn will be no more this year.

Lewis Hamilton recently described Singapore’s Turn 10 ‘Singapore Sling’ chicane as “the worst corner I’ve ever driven in F1″, and this caused us to ponder what are some of the other truly awful corners that have graced the F1 stage in his 60-year history.

Granted, the rise and rise of the ‘Tilkedrome’ would probably give us cause for plenty of nominations, and you might find a smattering of his design ideas gracing this countdown article.

Were we to list a countdown of the worst tracks in Formula 1 history – and this is a feature piece we’ll run soon – then there would certainly be a few of his efforts gracing that article.

However, in spite of his reputation for producing generally bland, soulless autodromes, Tilke is a good corner designer, and some of his works – Turkey’s Turn 8 is an obvious example – are truly incredible.

But what about the corners that are an utterly pointless interruption to a Formula 1 lap? Those that are ugly, badly-designed, clumsy messes that create ill will among the drivers and fans alike? This is the focus of our analysis today.

As safety measure have increased, those wonderful edifices designed to slow cars down – and I speak of chicanes here – are swiftly become a pox on the Formula 1 landscape. They are an unfortunately hideous adornment to what were many a classic circuit, and you’ll recognise quite a few of these monstrosities in this feature.

However, we’ll start immediately by stating that Singapore’s Turn 10 chicane does not grace this feature. It might be a dangerous chicane – hence the reason for Hamilton citing it – but that doesn’t necessarily make it a bad corner in our eyes. It is a supreme challenge for drivers, who have to dance over the kerbing and keep it off the wall at the exit of the corner. That’s a serious test for anyone behind the wheel. (RichardsF1)

It appears there has been a role reversal between Kimi and Stefano. It’s short and sweet, and all there is at present.

Domincali is quoted today as saying, “I am pleased to welcome Kimi back to the Scuderia, the team with which he won his World Championship title. I sense he is very happy to be returning to Maranello and very determined to tackle the work that awaits him in the best way possible.”

Okay, so is that a coded message to the iceman – WORK???

Kimi is also happy stating, “I am really happy to be returning to Maranello where I previously spent three fantastic and very successful years. I have so many memories of my time at Ferrari, memories which have stayed with me these past years, first and foremost, winning the World Championship title in 2007, which was really unforgettable.

I can’t wait to be driving a Prancing Horse car again and to reacquaint myself with so many people with whom I had such close links, as well as working with Fernando, whom I consider a great driver, in order to bring the team the success it deserves.”

Mmm. “Reaquant myself with so many people”, Sounds like Fernando will still be the black sheep of the family and called ‘shit layer’ behgind his back, whilst Kimi breezes in and sucks up all the Massa love.

Then we have “I can’t wait to be driving a Prancing Horse car again….. in order to bring the team the success it deserves.” So Alonso and his previous team mate have failed on this mission, but Kimi will be the difference. Mmm.

Of course, there is also in this statement a reference to winning a world championship title with Ferrari, something Nando has failed to deliver. More and more Mmm.

Is it me or is this a highly political polemic? Or do I need to lie down for a while???

In recent times, Monza is not quite the Mecca for F1 fans Italian or otherwise. FOM TV very cleverly sets up their camera’s not to show the vast empty stands around the circuit. The general admission prcie is very reasonable, around 100 euros for 3 days, but the price of a seat in certain parts of the circuit requires a small bank loan.

This year, the organisers say that around 90,000 fans attended on Sunday for the race with 21,000 on Friday and 45,000 on Saturday meaning around 156,000 attended over the 3 days.

Silverstone this year had around 125,000 spectators on race day and nearly 250,000 over the entire weekend. The Northamptonshire circuit’s general admission price is far higher than at Monza around 170 Euro’s for 3 days. However, seat prices begin at around 220 Euro’s including admission whereas in Monza they are much more expensive.

The viewing points at Silverstone you may argue are better too for fans with a GA ticket, whereas in Monza it is difficult to find a viewing point where the cars are visible for more than a few seconds. On the inside of Parabolica looking up the main straight is about the best GA view in terms of time the cars can be seen, but it is a very small area and with no shade – which in Monza is more than not essential.

The circuit has been badly managed for some time, but maybe if the organisers examined they’re pricing policy, they would attract a much larger attendance over the great annual festival that is the F1 Monza GP.

It appears this is the season for surprises in the world of Christian Horner. He was attending the premiere of the new F1 movie ‘Rush’ recently when he was caught by a surprise telephone call.

The information he received was that the team ‘consultant’, the good docktor Marko, was speaking on Austrian TV announcing the appointment of Daniel Ricciardo.

Just 13 minutes later, Horner had organised the distribution of an official press release from Milton Keynes with quotes but only from himself and Adrian Newey.

Today we believe Christian has a little surprise for the rest of us. He tells AMuS he and his wife Beverly are expecting a baby.

“I’m not the first one this has happened to,” he smiled to the Auto Motor und Sport reporter. “I’m very happy about it — it’s going to mix things up!”. Some Red Bull critics may suggest that Horner will be an excellent father having gained much experience from dealing with the the teams stubborn and disobedient young German driver.

Pastor may not be beating the Red Bulls, but he did beat Horner in the race to sire a child. He has been shuttling back and forth during the Eurpoean race season to Venzuala to check on his pregnant partner Gaby.

Baby Victoria was born early on Friday, while her father was getting prepared for Friday practice at Monza.

’Victoria’ is the Spanish word for victory. Well we all remember Barcelona 2012 I guess.

Gary Anderson made a good point about Ferrari should invest in the hulk as he is a longer term option than Kimi.

I know the decision is already made, but it would have made more sense than bringing back Kimi on a mega salary, with no real interest in promotions for sponsors and a lack of interest in staying around the track good (if the rumours are to be believed). They also would not have pissed off Fernando as much.

So I’m really starting to think that taking no Kimi is to hopefully cheese Fernando off enough that they can get him out of his contract by mutual consent – they’d have to pay him a fortune to get him out and would probably lose the bank money too.

I want to be proved wrong but not sure Hulkenberg is as good as people make out. My reasoning is Maldonado was more competitive alongside Barrichello in his debut year than Hulk was in his. Both were beaten by the Brazilian. When Hulkenberg was at Force India there was no separating him and DiResta until the last few races.
Think there are glimpse of great potential but still would be surprised if a team mate like Alonso wouldn’t dominate him.

Felipe had his opportunity for glory racing for Ferrari. Brazil 2008 was painful and he showed great class and dignity at Interlagos that day. It will be interesting to see what competitive cockpits are available to Massa next season. Nicolas Todt will surely leave no stone unturned. A return to Sauber makes the most sense, particularly if Sirotkin is racing for the Hinwil team in 2014.
Since Australia 2012 Massa has only stood on the podium on three occasions which is two less rostrum appearances than Grosjean over same period. Important to bear in mind Massa does have sponsors whom he made a point of thanking in his Tuesday announcement. This fact coupled with his nationality makes him an appealing alternative to Hulkenberg at Lotus. Doubtful Massa would want to drive the VJM07 although Aethra, a Brazilian auto parts manufacturer and Force India sponsor would surely be pleased to have him on board.
My hunch is that Lotus will take their time before announcing a replacement for Kimi. The silly season has peaked but is far from over.

Ferrari did announce Kimi contract yesterday in Frankfurt… there was a Finnish flag over the new Ferrari 458 Speciale.
Mika Häkkinen told that Kimi will strike down Alonso at Ferrari because Kimi’s driving style suits better for the new 2014 turbo cars.

I for one have been relishing the Fernando/Kimi partnership since TJ13 first broke the Kimi to Ferrari story back along. Did you notice Fernando flirting with the Tifosi at Monza, taking mobile snaps of them etc… He is already trying to get one up by being the fans favourite.

I do fear (as a Ferrari fan) however that the internal Ferrai plan is Seb/Kimi for 2015. Hopefully, there is plenty of time for other factors to change this (the Hulk to show in 2014 his true potential at Lotus? – or a sudden resurgence of Williams with its pokey Merc V6 engine and chassis designed under Pat Symonds??).

From what is being said on various forums. The kimi deal is only a year with a option for a 2nd year. So come 2016. We could see vettel and hulk in the prancing horse. With Kimi most likely retireing and Alonso forced to retire with the sen link.

Funny how The Spanish Samurai is always on Twitter yet now that Massa has confirmed he is no longer there it is quiet… I would have expected that Alonso would have said something about “great team mate, sad to see you go” … or am I looking for something that won’t happen 😉

True, the story was first out in Finnish but TJ13 first broke it in English, the source is probably the same that spread the news in the Hungary pitlane on the Thursday before the race (that’s where I first heard about it), but I do not that that source was physically in Italy at the time that first IS and then TJ13 broke it…

The story of Alonso pushing the team behind the scenes and pissing folks off was good reporting!

Candidly, I would hope he does so, and continues to do so. The results speak well of this.

The speculations that Fernando will consequently leave the team lack credibility, and are rubbish.

Many folks suffer from a syndrome of looking at Ferrari today and wonder if they’re looking at McLaren 2007. A thoughtful analysis of Ferrari 2013 / 2014 versus McLaren 2007 would show very few similarities.

“…the relationship between the team and Alonso… is being media managed with sticky tape for now.”

Really? Then I think it is worthwhile to either examine the current situation again, or share why you think so.

You’ve just now shared some very interesting insights which add much color to the situation. But this information points to heated discussions over two different subjects:

One is the discussion over who drives for Ferrari in 2014. The evidence you’ve shared is that Alonso was pushing hard for things that he wanted, (perhaps regarding his team-mate, but that also is only speculation). F1 driver contracts are critically important, and contracts between parties likely to win world championships are the most difficult. Not too much of a surprise here…

But that subject is now closed. And we all know from the pr and tweets today (and yesterday) that Alonso and Ferrari are both welcoming to the 2014 situation.

The other subject of the heated discussions is over the performance of the 2013 car. Thanks to TJ13 we know that Alonso has pushed the team hard, (and rightly so), and perhaps stepped on some toes. The team has responded successfully in different ways… they’ve stepped up the performance of the car, and LdM has pushed back publicly to Alonso for stepping on toes inappropriately. Perhaps we should recognize that teams based further north might be less likely to handle some of their dirty laundry publicly, but for LdM and Scuderia it might be appropriate in context.

But the evidence shows they remain very much a team together… the performances over the weekend, the pr, and the tweets over the last five days… Is there evidence that Alonso’s relationship with the team now is anything but strong?

Looking forward to some more thoughtful analysis. The reporting on Ferrari’s new line-up here today has been somewhere between poor and almost tolerable. Candidly, this soap opera character pablum content, wasting too time speculating on the drivers’ emotions, is not your honor’s finest content.

Here is what thoughtful F1 fans would like to see:

1) What exactly is the contract situation? Is Kimi’s contract a 1 + 1 (I thought I saw a prior rumor story someplace mention 2nd year is optional) or a solid 2 year?
Is Fernando’s contract through ’16 only, or is through ’15 w/option for ’16?

2) Why did Ferrari choose Kimi over the other available drivers? There are many drivers available, so some thoughtful analysis would be lovely.

3) What about the other seats and drivers? We have McLaren, Lotus, FIF1, Sauber, etc. We have many drivers, including another WDC, not yet signed.

On rare occasions TJ13 devolves down to being a half step above the noise one can find in any fan-forum, while other times we see some outstanding insights here…

Add to that: 4) what is Kimi’s new remuneration scheme? He was very much on a money-per-point scheme at Lotus which explains not only his incredible point-scoring consistency but is probably also a factor in Lotus’ current financial situation, but what is the deal in his new Ferrari contract? A big retainer with relatively small bonus per point, or another very mcuh result-linked remuneration scheme? If I were Ferrari I would have learned from his drop in motivation during his first stint with the team, but ‘making the same mistake twice’ could also indicate that this was more about keeping Kimi away from RBR rather then creating real intra-team competition for Alonso?

I’m not so sure about the Kimi motivation thing. That was manufactured by those who wanted him out of Ferrari. Also, if you know you’re pretty much done, pushed out, not loved or stuck in the middle of a war why give a toss?

Who knows what Kimi is thinking! Have you ever seen anything emotional from him? He never says anything that anyone can analyse… like Lewis for instance 🙂

Agreed. You have to feel for Hulk tho’ – he was nervous about FI’s longevity and not getting paid, went Sauber’s way and found out suddenly no moolah, now he’s staring down the barrel at a team known for defaulting on a driver’s salary. Can’t seem to shake it.

Agreed RE Hulkenberg and Lotus. In a way, I think it would be great to get the ‘FI team of ’12’ at Lotus (ie Hulkenberg and Di Resta), but I cant see Grosjean leaving. It looks like another year at FI for Di Resta, despite him being close to Hulkenberg IMO.

i think that is rather harsh on jenson, especially considering that he was not getting eaten alive by hamilton as many people expected, and i say that as a lewis fan.

anyways, germanies spiegel online claims that alonso tried getting domenicali pushed out and to get him replaced by briatore. do you know if that is true? i think you said the relationship between domenicali and alonso broke down, so might that be the reason?

Kimi to Fernando: want to hear a Kimi proverb? Samurai that goes to bed with itchy bum wakes up with smelley finger

Luca to Fernando: for sure you’re getting upgraded equipment over Kimi. Just look at the intercooler we’ve fitted to your car, Kimi doesn’t have one of those. Btw I’ll have a 99 with sprinkles when you pull in for your first pit stop……

Kimi to vettel: “so Luca says to me; you come here for 2014 and annoy Fernando, then when he leaves, the next year we bring in Seb to partner you… What do ya say?”

Kimi to Fernando: “so I told him all this shit about Luca wanting rid of you, and him joining Ferrari so he should exercise his exit clause for next year now…. you should have seen his face, so serious… Ha ha, he bought the lot”

Worst corners for me, both just t watch, and to race on online racing simulators are, in no particular order:

Singapore sling
That chicane at the end of catalunya between the last two old corners
The aqua minerale chicane they out in at imola for a while
The chicane on the back straight of canada, and eau rouge for… Was it 94? I forget.
The new first corner at estoril, and the daft little chicane

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Sling is still in. Remember these are public roads up to a couple of days before P1, so to stick a chicane on them before they are closed to the public would cause a bit of chaos.

Also entertaining is Turn 1, where any sort of shunt will make it impossible for cars to get through. Check out the ALMS start this year, or the 3 consecutive restarts in the Indy Car race for more insanity.

im wondering why a lot of people are so pessimistic about the fernando, kimi teamup. i feel that theyre not kids anymore and have both matured through their careers. both are former world champions, both have had luckluster performances after. they both know how it feels like driving a crap car. and they both know how it feels like to see sebs rb9 getting smaller and smaller as the car speeds away. if at all, i see this as an alliance of some sort. i think nobody would be as happy as both of them when they see seb on 3rd. or better yet, not on the podium at all in 2014 🙂

i just had a thought. wouldnt it have been cool if massa went to redbull instead? hes quick when hes in front, and redbulls known to be really good in qualifying. besides, hes been known to wear the “no2” rather well.